Calendar of Events
Note: Meetings are usually held on the second Sunday of each month, September through May, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Currently we are meeting via Zoom, but in-person meetings are held at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Services Center, 4805 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda, Maryland, and occasionally at other venues. The meetings are open to anyone. However, certain meetings may require a fee.
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Kaffeehaus: How Vienna Changed Global Baking
Speaker: Rick Rogers
West Orange, New Jersey
RICK RODGERS BIOGRAPHY
For over three decades, Rick Rodgers has been one of the most versatile names in the food business. Through his work as a teacher, food writer, cookbook author and editor, and media guest chef, his infectious love of good food reaches countless cooks every day. He is the sole author of over 50 cookbooks, including IACP nominees Kaffeehaus and The Carefree Cook. As a collaborator, he has written over 30 more titles with some of the most recognizable names in business, food, and the arts. His clients include Patti LaBelle, The Model Bakery, chef Chris Santos, Frankie Avalon, Tommy Bahama Restaurants, Nordstrom, Sur La Table, and 10 books for Williams-Sonoma. He now partners with social media influencers, such as Owen Han and Matt Broussard, on their freshman cookbooks. He holds an award for “Outstanding Culinary Educator” by Bon Appétit Magazine and has won IACP and Gourmand Awards and Beard nominations for his cookbook work. His mother’s family was from Liechtenstein, and he first learned about Austro-Hungarian baking from his great-aunts. His website is rickrodgers.com, where you can find out more about his culinary tours to Vienna and Budapest.
TALK DESCRIPTION
Rick Rodgers will bring to life the elegance, history, and flavors of the Austro-Hungarian café tradition. Perhaps even more than their Franco-Italian counterparts, these legendary establishments gave the world some of its most iconic pastries and confections, from Sachertorte to Strudel, from buttercream to sweet dumplings. Home baking would not be what it is today without the innovations in yeast production by the Hungarian Fleischmann brothers. Rick will reveal how these elements shaped global baking and why Central Europe’s cafés continue to enchant food lovers today. Prepare to be educated and entertained as Rick recounts many surprising stories, legends, and facts featuring such diverse characters as Marie Antoinette (who did NOT bring the croissant to Paris) and Snow White’s seven little roommates. He will also explain the unusual dessert categories in the Austro-Hungarian canon, so different from the rest of Europe.